(CNN) - Governors around the country have called for a moment of silence Friday morning in memory of the 20 students and 7 adults killed December 14 in Newtown, Connecticut, by a gunman who also took his own life.

President Barack Obama will hold a moment of silence himself, the White House said. He traveled to the town Sunday evening and spoke at an interfaith vigil, noting the students and faculty killed "lost their lives in a school that could have been any school, in a quiet town full of good and decent people that could be any town in America."FULL POST

(CNN) - With the shock and horror from Newtown giving way to anger and calls for action, President Barack Obama will announce his first concrete steps Wednesday in addressing the raging debate about gun policy.

Obama is expected to announce that Vice President Joe Biden will lead an inter-agency process to develop policy in the wake of the Connecticut elementary school massacre.

(CNN) - The National Rifle Association said in a statement Tuesday it was "shocked, saddened and heartbroken" by news of the elementary school shooting in Connecticut. It said it is "prepared to offer meaningful contributions to help make sure this never happens again."

The group explained its several days of silence was "out of respect for the families, and as a matter of common decency."

It is the most prominent national gun rights group and spent $17 million this year on federal elections. Since Friday's shooting, several legislators have said they plan to submit, support, or consider strengthened federal gun legislation.

(CNN) - Legislators from around the country rose to the microphone in the House and Senate Monday with heavy hearts in the wake of the Connecticut elementary school shooting that left 20 young students and six adults dead.

Both sides of the capitol observed a moment of silence and members from around the country offered tributes.FULL POST

(CNN) - Connecticut Gov. Dannel Malloy called for federal legislators to act on gun control legislation in the wake of shootings at the Sandy Hook Elementary School and said laws could have been in place which may have prevented this shooting.

"Do I think Washington, D.C., needs to get its act together and enact stricter gun control laws at the federal level?" he asked. "You bet I do."FULL POST

(CNN) – Another high-profile Democrat with strong backing from the National Rifle Association said Monday it was time for tougher gun laws.

"I believe every American has Second Amendment rights. The ability to hunt is part of our culture. I have an NRA rating of an 'A,' but enough is enough," Sen. Mark Warner of Virginia told WBBT, a local CNN affiliate in Richmond.FULL POST

Washington (CNN) - As the horrific shootings in Newtown, Connecticut remain fresh in the minds of Americans, a big question is whether the deaths of 20 young children at Sandy Hook Elementary School will impact public opinion on gun control.

Three polls conducted immediately after Friday's tragedy indicate that the shootings may be changing some minds.FULL POST

(CNN) – Democratic Sen. Frank Lautenberg plans to reintroduce legislation in the next Congress that would prohibit the sale of high-capacity magazines, his office confirmed Monday.

The senator from New Jersey is another member of the upper chamber with plans to put forth legislation limiting gun rights. Sen. Dianne Feinstein announced Sunday she'll reintroduce an assault weapons ban when Congress reconvenes in January.FULL POST

(CNN) – Sen. Joe Manchin, a conservative Democrat from West Virginia and "proud gun owner," said Monday he believes last week's Connecticut elementary school shooting should be the tipping point in the debate over limiting gun rights.

"Who would have ever thought, in America, or anywhere in the world, that children would be slaughtered?" he said on CNN's "Amanpour." "You know, that–it's changed me."FULL POST

Newtown, Connecticut (CNN) – President Barack Obama turned the nation's attention to America's children Sunday night when he addressed families in Newtown, Connecticut, the site of last week's fatal school shooting.

"This is our first task, caring for our children. Our first job. If we don't get that right, we don't get anything right. That's how, as a society, we will be judged," Obama said. "Can we honestly say that we're doing enough to keep our children, all of them, safe from harm? ... I've been reflecting on this the last few days, and if we're honest with ourselves, the answer's no. We're not doing enough. And we will have to change."FULL POST